If you’re developing cabin fever while trying to stay in mountain biking shape this winter, you can also be preparing your 2009 race plans. If you have never tried a mountain bike race, find a race and you just might surprise yourself with how fun and rewarding it can be. For inspiration, let’s take a peek into the life of Unreal Cycles sponsored racer, Matt Adams. Matt shared with us his passion for riding bikes, his training regimen, and his 2009 racing schedule:

“Over the past seven years I have spent countless hours aboard my bicycle. My two wheeled companion has given me way to escape the trials of day-to-day life, a way to lose myself in another world.

My Unreal Junior has become a close companion. Downhill, dirt jumps, street, or slalom, the Junior loves it all. It has helped to make my training a joyful experience.

I ride a minimum of four days a week, more if I can help it. The typical day involves racing cars down the suburban streets in my hometown of Pacifica, California. Then hitting the dirt jumps or downhill trails, depending on my mood: keeping it fun is important. At least three of these ride days are followed by a second grueling upper or full body workout. I have found jiu-jitsu to be an excellent addition to my training regime. Twice a week I hit the mats for 3 1/2 hours. The core workout is intense. Sit-ups, leg lifts, pushups, pull ups, bench press and curls are a daily must as well.

In 2009 I will be focusing on racing on the west coast. I’ll be hitting some of the local Sandhill Ranch series, the Sea Otter Classic, some North Star races, and the Southridge Classic in Fontana come November. I will also be doing several of the CCCX races in Monterey. Also in 2009 I will be helping instruct at a local XC camp, and doing a 24 hour race in July.”

We’re wishing Matt the best of luck in his upcoming races. This spring, we’ll be testing an Unreal frame similar to Matt’s, so stay tuned for more about this unique build from Unreal Cycles.

A race schedule like Matt’s may seem daunting to most of us, but to reiterate his own words,”keeping it fun is important.” So what are you waiting for? Whether it’s entering your first mountain bike race or testing your endurance in a 24 hour race, just get out there and have fun!

James Wilson is a trainer specializing in mountain bike strength coaching and his blog is a great resource for riders looking to get in shape for racing season. To become a competitive mountain biker these days it’s not enough to be in great shape - you need to train using exercises designed specifically for mountain biking. Unlike other coaches who simply modify road cycling training plans for off-road riders, James had dedicated himself to developing training plans and workouts specifically for mountain bikers. As such his client list reads like a who’s who of mountain bike racing including former NORBA and UCI champions.

Bike James has two MTB training programs for sale - MTB DB Combos 12 Week Program and The Ultimate MTB Workout Program but here’s a secret: you can get many of his short videos for free on YouTube. Most of the videos are posted on the bikejames.com blog as well so it’s like having your own personal MTB trainer in your living room! No more excuses for getting in shape for MTB season…

When you ask people why they don’t work out, you’ll usually get one of three answers: it’s too time consuming, it’s too painful / boring, or it’s too expensive to join a gym or buy a Bow Flex. And while I won’t argue that working out can be painful or boring at times, getting in shape for mountain biking doesn’t have to take a lot of time or cost a lot of dough. Here’s how to get faster on the mountain bike without wasting your time or your money.

Build up your endurance

You don’t wanna be huffing and puffing on the trail this spring and telling your buddies to wait up for you gets old really quick (for you and for them). Fortunately a little dedication now will pay off big time in the spring. Getting out on the trail can be time consuming for most of us and it’s even tougher when the days are so short. Instead, why not walk out the door and go for a jog? I like to run about 3-4 miles a few times a week (about 30 minutes) to keep in shape for mountain biking and the time commitment is actually pretty minimal - about an hour including a shower afterwards.

Some folks truly detest running and for others running may not be an option due to joint problems so I have an alternative: ride your bike on the road. Believe it or not you don’t need a special bike for riding on the road - your mountain bike will do just fine Seriously though, everyone has access to roads outside their front door and by skipping the drive to the trailhead you can save a ton of time. If you’re using biking to build endurance you’ll need to commit a little more time than if you were running - generally 45 minutes to an hour a few times a week.

Focus on the legs

After endurance, leg strength is the second most important aspect to dominating the mountain bike trail and you don’t need fancy machines to get results. Some of you may know I served in the Air Force for several years and during that time I learned a number of great exercises that require zero equipment. To get a good leg workout, start out with lunges - hands on hips, step forward keeping your front knee above your toes and alternate back and forth. Start out doing 20 lunges (each leg) as a part of your fitness routine and increase as you feel comfortable.

Another great leg and glute’ workout is the squat. Squats are similar to lunges but for this exercise you’ll keep your feet together and lean your butt back as you move up and down. Be sure to keep your knees in front of your toes to avoid injury and do as many as you feel comfortable with to start out. Along the same lines, try a wall sit - place your back against a wall and “sit” as if you had a chair underneath your butt. See how long you can hold it before falling down!

Upper body

A lot of mountain bikers ignore upper body workouts but expert riders will tell you upper body strength is almost as important as leg strength. Upper body strength is important for climbing and also for technical trail riding - plus the ladies like guys with big guns. Getting Popeye arms is as simple as adding push-ups to your workout routine and with some simple modifications you can get a full arm workout using just gravity.

To build muscle mass and endurance, I recommend doing three sets of push-ups with 30 seconds rest in between. Start out doing three sets of 10-20 push-ups daily and within no time you’ll see definition in your arms and your bike will feel 5 pounds lighter on the trail.

“Diamond style” push-ups are great at building your pecs and will give you better bike control on the trail. Pull-ups are basically inverted push-ups and are great for building both arms and abdominal muscles. If you can do 20 pull-ups (chin all the way above the bar each time) you’re well on your way to dominating the mountain bike race circuit!

Core strength

Working out your body’s core will translate into better bike handling on the trail - faster cornering, higher jumping, and of course, more graceful landings. Abdominal workouts are probably my least favorite but they are super important for building a base for technical mountain biking skills. Crunches are basically modified sit-ups you can do without a partner and they’re great for working your abs and back at the same time. I also like to do an exercise the Air Force calls “flutter kicks”: lie on your back with hands under your butt and your feet about 6 inches off the ground. Alternate kicking each leg up about 12-18 inches off the ground and back. If you’re doing it right you’ll start to feel the burn in your abs and your legs pretty quickly which means it must be a pretty good workout

Put it all together

All of these exercises can be done anywhere and they really pay off when completed on a regular basis. Most weekdays I like to do my run then push-ups and sit-ups while I cool down and I save bike workouts for the weekend when I have a little more time. The important thing is to find a routine that you’ll stick to and one that maximizes your workout time so you’ll have fewer excuses to slack off. Keep it up this winter and you’ll be kicking ass on the bike in time for spring!

We started a wiki a while back to share mountain biking “how-to’s” on everything from mountain bike handling to maintenance and repair but since then we’ve realized the wiki format isn’t really doin’ it for us. Instead, we’ll use the blog to share these articles and ask that our readers add to the articles via the comment feature at the bottom of the page.

There are a number of methods mountain bikers use to get over logs and rocks on the trail. Depending on the size of the obstacle, here are some approaches to consider:

1. Pop a wheelie: This is the easiest way to get started and it works best for small logs or rocks. As you approach the obstacle, lift up your front wheel just before you get to it. It may take some practice to get your timing right but practice makes perfect! While this method gets your front tire over the log smoothly, it does nothing to lessen the impact on your rear wheel. Watch your chain ring as well, larger logs and rocks tend to get caught here and can send you into an endo if you’re not careful.

2. The bunny hop: Clipping in to your pedals (with either toe clips or clipless pedals) make this a whole lot easier. Make sure you have lots of speed as you approach the obstacle. Just before impact, jump up, carrying your entire bike with you (front and rear wheels) to clear the obstacle. This is risky since if you jump too soon or if you don’t have enough speed you may come down on the log or rock with your rear wheel creating a nasty “taco” out of your rim.

3. The speed hoop: This takes the most skill by far but it’s far more versatile than the other methods and can get you over much larger obstacles. (See video below).

Over the next two months we’ll be talking about mountain bike training and getting in shape for the spring MTB season. Sure, getting in shape for mountain biking can seem boring, painful, and at times, anti-social but the Big Mountain Mountain Bike Training camp offers a nice alternative.

This year’s training camp is being held in late March near sunny Las Vegas and includes training rides at the IMBA Epic Bootleg Canyon trails and on various trails in the world-renowned St. George, UT area. 1996 Olympic mountain biker and 2-time Trans Rockies Challenge winner Andreas Hestler will lead the training camp and will offer tips on nutrition, stage racing, and seasonal periodization, among other topics.

The Big Mountain MTB Training Camp sounds like a great opportunity to build your skills before the season starts while enjoying epic trails and learning from a seasoned pro rider. The cost is about $2,000 USD for the eight day training camp, about what you’d normally pay for a mountain bike holiday in the western US. Boost your MTB skills while enjoying epic trails and western scenery - sounds like a win-win to me!

For more information, email info@ridebig.com.

Ray’s Indoor MTB Park (photo courtesy RaysMTB.com)

Boulder Indoor Cycling just opened the doors to its shiny new velodrome and is putting the finishing touches on an indoor mountain bike circuit inside the facility. Boulder Indoor Cycling will join Ray’s Indoor MTB Park in Cleveland, OH as only the second indoor mountain bike facility in the US (that we know of anyway). The mountain bike circuit will lie mostly inside the velodrome track (see map below) meaning space will be tight but that won’t stop designers from adding log bridges, rockpiles, jumps and banked trails. Even though Boulder Indoor Cycling is in IMBA’s neighborhood I doubt it will be declared an IMBA Epic like Ray’s Indoor MTB Park - but ya never know.

Proposed MTB circuit layout. Blue and green courses are for beginning riders; yellow is intermediate; red is advanced.

Prices at Boulder Indoor Cycling start at just 5 bucks an hour in summer ($7 an hour in winter) and you can get a season pass (cold season or warm season) for $450. No word on when the mountain bike track will be open but the velodrome is open as we speak so if you have a track or road bike you can get a sneak preview right now!

It’s nice to see more options for mountain bikers looking to stay in shape during the winter months and a MTB specific facility is great for keeping technical skills strong while building endurance for the spring. I’ve done a little indoor mountain biking myself over the years - that is, if you count riding on an indoor trainer with slick tires on your mountain bike “indoor mountain biking.” Over the next two months we’ll be sharing our tips for winter mountain bike riding and training to keep you sane and get you in shape for spring riding. Never stop mountain biking!

Admit it: you’ve thought about it at least once or twice. Many of us imagine giving up our commute-and-cubicle lifestyle and making a living out on the mountain bike trail, guiding out-of-state riders with money to spend through scenic and challenging terrain. But what does it actually take to become a professional mountain bike guide?

SingletrackWorld posted an article this week about a course run by the UK’s National Cycling Organization that teaches mountain bikers to become mountain bike guides. The article is pretty sparse on details but does bring up some good points about skills mountain bike guides need to be successful. It turns out being a good mountain biker who enjoys riding isn’t enough - here are just a few skills you’ll need to be a good professional mountain bike guide:

1. Positive attitude and mad people skills: When riders pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to go on a mountain bike tour they expect to have a great time and it’s up to the guide to make sure that happens. In the face of horrible trail conditions, the guide has to put on a positive spin on things and customer service is hugely important. Don’t agree with the idea that the customer is always right? Perhaps you shouldn’t become a mountain bike guide.

2. Patience is a virtue: Yep, you’ve heard this one before but as a mountain bike guide the fact is you’ll be riding with generally slower folks who aren’t familiar with the local terrain. Mountain bike guiding isn’t like riding with your buddies every weekend - some days it’s more like riding with your grandmother or nephew. It takes a tremendous amount of restraint to avoid bombing downhills past your clients or smoking everyone to the top of a climb. Many times you’ll feel like the expert skier on the bunny slope teaching hopeless newbs to snow plow.

3. First aid training is a must. On backcountry biking tours and trips you’ll be taking clients into potentially dangerous situations and the chance for injuries is high. Keep in mind that if a client breaks a leg, you’ll be the one carrying them out. Scrapes and bruises are easier to handle but your bike will need to be a rolling first aid kit to avoid lawsuits (though even this isn’t any guarantee). Be prepared with supplies, communication equipment, extra water, food, and warm clothing - you never know what out-of-towners will get themselves into on the trail!

4. Bike repair skills: In addition to being a trained first-responder and an expert communicator, mountain bike guides also need to be well versed in field-repair techniques for all types of bikes. Flat tires are a given but what will you do if one of your clients tacos a rim after an overly ambitious jump? Planning routes with multiple exit points along the way is a good idea so your assistants can deliver bike parts, food, water, etc. mid-ride if necessary. Nobody wants to remember their mountain bike vacation by the long walk they had to make with a broken bike. Plus that’s not the way to build repeat business

5. Business skills: Running a mountain bike tour company yourself is serious business and if you’re not well versed in accounting, marketing, sales, and the like you may be in over your head. Also keep in mind that hobbies like mountain biking can be ruined for you once they become a job. If you’re serious about starting a MTB guide service or tour company, try working for an established outfit for a summer to make sure it’s the right thing for you before you invest your nest egg.

6. Logistical engineering: A mountain bike vacation has more moving parts than most “normal” vacations and you’ll be responsible for making things easy on your clients. Transporting bikes and luggage to/from airports, arranging accommodations, and planning meals are just some of the unglamorous things mountain bike guides are responsible for. On top of that you need to plan killer rides plus evening entertainment and relaxation for your guests to make a memorable trip. Word of mouth is huge in the mountain bike touring biz so everything about your trip needs to be smooth as butter.

Whew. If, after all that, you’re still thinking about becoming a mountain bike guide then I’d say you should go for it. Obviously it takes a unique person with strong skills and the ability to lead great employees to operate a successful mountain bike tour company. Interested in going on a great MTB vacation as a client? Check out our catalog of mountain bike tours around the world!

Timothy Jones posted a good article on the Made to Order Bikes blog about mountain bike safety earlier this week that’s worth checking out. Beyond wearing a helmet, Jones reminds us of the importance of eye protection, gloves, and even MTB body armor for downhill / urban rides.

It’s interesting to see how safety gear has evolved in other sports like skiing where just a few years ago no one was wearing helmets on the slopes. Today it seems like about half the kids (and adults) you see skiing and boarding are wearing helmets - it’s as if being safe is cool now. I can see the same thing taking place in the MTB world as folks start opting for shin and arm guards more and more.

Jones talks about his brother breaking bones in multiple bike crashes and it turns out this isn’t so uncommon. In fact, of 1,984 singletracks members surveyed, 175 riders broke bones on the trail at least once; 112 of those broke bones more than once! Of course that won’t keep me off the trail and I’ll still attempt the gnarly moves - I’ll just drink an extra glass of milk before I go out

The morzinemtb blog posted part 1 of a series on avoiding mountain bike injuries which should be pretty helpful for those of you embarking on late summer epic rides this month. Today’s post focuses on avoiding neck pain and my favorite tip is that riders should get off the bike at least once per hour to stretch. (!) I don’t know about you but that’s not a problem for me - I probably stop at least every 15 minutes to grab water and give my saddle a rest (even more often on technical trails w/ hike a bike sections). Part 2 on the morzinemtb blog is set to cover back and knee injury avoidance…

A few weeks back a friend and I were discussing big mountain bike jumps and how people learn to land them. I mean, we’ve all seen skills areas with progressively larger jumps but how do you go from a 4 foot jump to a 50 foot drop like the one at Santos? (pictured below) I think I may have found an answer and it involves gymnastics equipment.

Whistler Mountain Bike Park has set up the Air Dome for this year’s Crankworx festival (August 9-17) and inside the dome there is a foam pit typically used for gymnastics practice. Riders work their way up to the pit on jumps from 1 to 4 meters (3 to 12 feet) in the enclosed riding area. And I just assumed that Ray’s Indoor MTB Park was the only place to mountain bike indoors…

Photo from Mudbunnie News blog

Learning “air awareness” as this article puts it is definitely important to landing huge mountain bike jumps and the foam pit seems like a good place to hone your skills. Kinda reminds me of a summer trip to the US Olympic training center in Lake Placid, NY where the US ski team was practicing aerial acrobatics in a specialized pool at the end of a ski ramp. These guys also “practiced” ski jumping where the landing area was astroturf instead of snow - a bit less forgiving than a pool. I guess you really gotta work up to that before you give it a try

Ski version of practice jumping (Lake Placid, NY)

Fail to stick this landing and you’ll end up with serious turf burn at a minimum. The landing pad is actually the lower sea green turf patch. To give you an idea of scale, the gray rectangle to the right of the landing area is a grandstand area.

With the ongoing intersection of technology and mountain biking there have been some recent efforts to quantify and compare mountain bike trails. While the idea may sounds strange, some interesting progress has been made.

The International Bike Parameters Index (IBP Index) “is an index that values the difficulty of a mountain bike route or a road bike route” using GPS data collected on the bike. For example, you can upload your GPS data from a ride and the IBP Index will calculate things like distance and the grade along the route. I tried the index for a few rides with mixed results and I concluded the usefulness really depends on the quality of your GPS data. TopoFusion includes two similar indices for GPS tracks, one called the “difficulty index,” and the other the “effort index.” While the numbers don’t mean anything when taken by themselves, they are useful to compare across rides to get an idea of relative difficulty.

Here on singletracks we’ve even taken a stab at quantifying the technical aspects of mountain biking. Using the IMBA trail difficulty rating system we give members the chance to rate the technical difficulty of mountain bike trails around the world. Those ratings are then aggregated leading to an average or consensus rating for each trail. Such a rating would be difficult to compile without software and the distributed nature of the internet – yet another way technology is helping quantify MTB trails.

In the end though, no amount of technology or group polling will ever fully quantify a mountain bike trail. Even if you could take things into account like scenery, tread, and the like, could a number ever really communicate what it’s like to ride a mountain bike trail? It would be like trying to compare your friends – sure some friends are better than others but really they’re just different and you like them each for different reasons. Instead of relying on a rating, why not get out and ride for yourself – you might just be surprised at what you find!

The Ride-Strong.com blog has a great post about getting in shape for racing in 2008. While this blog mostly focuses on road riding the training info is really applicable to anyone who rides on two wheels. My personal favorite tip - rest and recovery are important so get lots of sleep before racing season! No problem for me there

While you’re thinking about the upcoming racing season, check out the singletracks MTB race calendar. Events are being added every day and there are even a few races this very weekend! Racing in February? You bet.